U.S. Imperialism Must End its Military Occupation and Interference in Korea!

March 30, 2013

On March 29 U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel blamed the perceived "tone" of formal proclamations made by the North Korean government for "ratcheting up the danger." In response to clear cut statements from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that it would never yield to U.S. threats and pressure nor give up its sovereign rights, Hagel simply bad-mouthed the DPRK's head of state, Kim Jong-un.

Even while violating to this extent the elementary norms of relations between states, the Obama administration is applying increasingly aggressive threats and pressure against North Korea. For example, formally to last from March 1-April 30, U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises officially proclaimed to be "unrelated to events on the Korean peninsula" feature drills directly adjacent to the airspace, land and waters of North Korea. The drills involve tens of thousands of troops, war-planes and battleships. Most recently, the Pentagon admitted that on March 28-29, two nuclear-capable B-2 bombers participated in "routine" and "defensive" training drills by flying from a U.S. air base, dropping munitions on a South Korean training range and returning to the U.S. air base.

Accompanying this latest U.S. government campaign against North Korea, the capitalist media unleashed a torrent of racist, warmongering propaganda against the government and people of the DPRK.

The facts show that the real nuclear threat in the Korean peninsula and the main source of tension and war in the world is U.S. imperialism.

For over 60 years, U.S. imperialism has been at war against the DPRK.

During the Korean War of 1950-53, the U.S. killed 2 million Koreans in a barbarous war of aggression. 78 cities and towns in the DPRK were bombed off the map; 75% of the country's food and irrigation systems were destroyed, etc. The U.S. used chemical and biological weapons and threatened to use nuclear weapons.

Since the end of open hostilities, the U.S. has still refused to sign a peace treaty with the DPRK and remains in a state of war. Thirty-seven thousand (37,000) U.S. troops occupy south Korea preventing the peaceful reunification of Korea. Through economic and financial sanctions, the U.S. is trying to strangle the DPRK. It continually carries on aerial espionage and regularly engages in "war games" to prepare for invading the country. For decades, the U.S. stockpiled thousands of nuclear warheads in south Korea and today, U.S. nuclear submarines surround the DPRK and dock in south Korean harbors. The U.S. government has branded the DPRK as part of an "axis of evil" and repeatedly called for "regime change." The Pentagon openly boasts of plans for a nuclear first-strike against the DPRK.

In short, it is U.S. imperialism which has aimed its nuclear weapons at the DPRK just as it is U.S. imperialism which has stationed tens of thousands of troops outside its border to threaten the DPRK.

Facing this encirclement, the DPRK has defended its sovereignty by strengthening its economic and political independence as well as its deterrent military power.

It is the indisputable sovereign right of the DPRK to conduct nuclear tests as it has recently done. Neither U.S. imperialism nor anyone else can infringe on this right. In the prevailing conditions the DPRK's nuclear program serves to defend the independence of the country and peace in the Korean peninsula and the world.

At the same time, the DPRK has consistently worked for a negotiated resolution of tensions. The DPRK is committed to the signing of a permanent peace treaty and mutual recognition between the U.S. and the DPRK as well as to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The U.S. has responded to these open and sincere efforts with new economic sanctions, more pressure and threats.

The U.S. government, in its imperialist arrogance and belligerence, is enraged at the DPRK because it is resolutely defending its sovereignty.

Since the U.S. first dropped atomic bombs on Japan, it has pursued a policy of nuclear blackmail against the world. Time and again it has threatened countries with nuclear weapons in order to force them to their knees. While the peoples of the world, including the American people, have demonstrated in their hundreds of millions against nuclear weapons, the U.S. government has continuously stockpiled more nukes. The U.S. has deployed its nuclear weapons all over the globe, helped its allies, including Great Britain and Israel, build nuclear weapons even while screaming that no other country is "allowed" to have nuclear weapons. The U.S. has repeatedly sabotaged the efforts of the international community to limit and abolish nuclear weapons. For example, the U.S. brazenly ignores the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which require the U.S. to refrain from threatening non-nuclear countries with nuclear weapons and which also demand that the U.S. dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

History shows that U.S. imperialism is not going to give up its nuclear weapons nor will it willingly restrain its aggressive ambitions. History teaches that countries can only defend their independence and their very existence from U.S. aggression by building up their self-defence capacities. This is why the DPRK's resolute defense of its sovereignty is an important force against U.S. aggression and for peace in the world.

The American people, who ardently desire peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons, must, firstly, wage unrelenting struggles against the U.S. government and its program of militarism, nuclear blackmail and war.

We demand an end to U.S. pressure and interference against the DPRK and the withdrawal of all U.S. nuclear weapons and troops from the Korean peninsula.

We demand the total abolition of the U.S. nuclear arsenal; this is the key to global disarmament.

The most important step towards peace is ending all U.S. interference and aggression against other countries, withdrawing all U.S. troops stationed abroad and recognizing the sovereign rights of every country.